Note from the War on Terror

Iraq, Afghanistan... We hear about the goings-on in those countries quite a bit. But how often does the US-involved fight against al-Qaeda-linked forces in the Philippines make front page headlines? Yeah, not very often. When was the last time you heard the name Jemaah Islamiyah?

Anyways, media scolding aside (bad, bad media!), here is a Delta-style summary of an AP article, talking about new joint-excercises in the Philippines. And by joint, I mean 2 countries, not like a part of your body-type joint. Or that kind of a joint. Honestly!

Top U.S. and Philippine military commanders confirmed that upcoming joint training exercises will combine military and humanitarian efforts to root out militants from regional terror group, Jemaah Islamiyah. They hope to go into some areas with little-to-no security AT ALL, where Jemaah Islamiyah draws most of it's power.

Filipino officials are on edge. "As we all know, the JI threat is an emergine one," said Filipino Gen. Efren Abu. "This is a problem that we will have to address squarely because the JI ... has a long-term plan to expand and we are closely watching this." He hopes that by depriving them of areas for base operations, it will be difficult to establish a foothold.

It is a humbling thought to realize that the war on terror is indeed a GLOBAL war, and that it has been going on for many, many years before 9/11.